5-30W in place of 5-20W???

[ihookem]

No way will you notice a mileage difference. When I went from regular oil to Amsoil synthetic I noticed a .2 mpg increase. The difference between 20-30 w is none for mileage.. Why don't you just go to a good synthetic like 5w20 and forget about it until next summer when it gets hot again. Just a suggestion, not that I care.

 

[sw03]

No way will you notice a mileage difference. When I went from regular oil to Amsoil synthetic I noticed a .2 mpg increase. The difference between 20-30 w is none for mileage.. Why don't you just go to a good synthetic like 5w20 and forget about it until next summer when it gets hot again. Just a suggestion, not that I care.

I went from Amsoil 5w30 to 0w20 and noticed a diff. If you do not, check other items on your engine.

 

[zuiko]

I use 5W30 in both of my 5W20 vehicles and have for years. I think the only reason they specify 5W20 is for mileage (as mentioned) or emissions. 5W20 is a lot harder to find (you are lucky to have one or two brands to choose from at the store) and it costs more (since you are stuck with whatever brand they happen to have), so I will stick with 5W30. I also don't want to have to stock another kind of oil... I already have enough different kinds of oil around.

 

[ihookem]

SW03, what did you notice that was different? Just wondering.

 

[crashz]

I wouldn't do it. Here's why. I've had several vehicles in my shop with the complaint "excessive valve train noise". Guess what caused the louder valve noise. Customers were changing their oil with the wrong viscosity. Oil with higher viscosities will not be able to make it's way to the valve train fast enough to properly lubricate them. As oil gets older the viscosity gets higher(thicker). Now even worse is the weather is getting colder. Guess what the w30 will do on cold starts. Not as good as the w20 that's for sure. Will you notice louder valve train noise right away. Not likely. First the hydraulic lifters start to calapse due to oil starvation. Next the Lifters start hammering on pushrod/valve depending on the kind of car/truck you've got. Next comes the wear that makes it all get louder. Wouldn't hurt if just topping off but changing the oil with the wrong kind is not a good idea with the tolerances of today's engines. Advise is free. Engines aren't though.

Matt,

I've seen this to be true to a point. When Ford came out with the modular motors (4.6/5.4/6.8), guys were putting 15w-40 in as they always had with their older trucks. The valvetrains took a beating because oil could not get there fast enough. I saw a poor Super Duty go through this, and when the owner couldn't figure our what all that racket was, he started using 20w-50. Not good in the New England climate. He chewed the cams up in it and had to replace the heads cause the cam bearing wore into the castings.

But cold weather peformance is very close with a 5w-20 and a 5w-30. The 5w-30 will be a thicker viscosity at 100 degrees C, however the range of viscosity (hot) in centipoise for the two actually overlap when looking at different oil brands. I encourage anyone who is interested to research it. Its been a while since I looked at the numbers, but a search on BITOG will yeild good results.

So whats the benefit of a 5w-20 if its not much viscosity difference? Well, it will yeild a very slighty mileage increase. It also does not break down as much as 5w-30 due to less viscosity improvers and (at the time) much better base stocks. Back in 2000 when it was mainstreamed with Honda and Ford, the 5w-30s on the shelf (which could shear down to a viscosity lower than a 5w-20 after a few thousand miles) were a Group I or Group II based oil. Those basestocks couldn't cut the mustard for the new 5w-20 and barage of tests that were introduced by Ford, Honda and later required for API approval. So essentially the 5w-20 oils produced better mileage, better protection, and stayed in grade better than the 5w-30s. Now the 5w-30s have been produced along side the 5w-20 and share the same basestocks, so really they are the same. Just a little more viscosity improver added to the 5w-30.

You're right on another level Matt. Advice on the net is free. And well worth the price paid. So I suggest that people take it with a grain of salt, do their research and use a boat load of common sense.

 

[RalphVa]

I've switched every engine (except my generator; haven't done it yet) to 0w30 because it's available now. Our research guys (Imperial in Sarnia, Ontario at the time) did a test where they left a Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth with 4 cylinder crossways engine in a -40 booth overnight. Next morning, they started the engine while filming a transparent valve cover. On any oil but a 0wxx, there was a HUGE amount of smoking underneath the valve cover by oil being vaporized before fresh oil was being pumped up there.

For starts, especially in cold weather, you need 0wxx oil to keep the valve train from experiencing excessive wear.

I'd use what you manual recommends, but recognize that some new oils will have come out since the manual was written. If it recommends 5w20, a 0w20 will be better.

Ralph

 

[Doc_Bob]

I'd use what you manual recommends, but recognize that some new oils will have come out since the manual was written. If it recommends 5w20, a 0w20 will be better.

Ralph

Technology keeps moving! Even in the world of oil.
Bob

 

[sw03]

SW03, what did you notice that was different? Just wondering.

WAY smoother engine, better mpg, "lose" engine, quicker warm ups..

 

[RalphVa]

Main thing I noticed going from dino to synthetic (Mobil 1) was approximately 3% better fuel mileage; that's about 1 mpg at around 30 mpg that I get on my 3 vehicles. The VW hydraulic valve noise on startup seems to have lessened with the 0w30 vs. 5w30. It's the only one with hydraulic lifters. Tractor, Tacoma and Benz all have solid ones.

Don't do warmups. Just start up and drive gently for a while, even with the tractor. Actually, I'm driving kinda gently all the time now to save fuel.

Don't know about anyone else, but I get 2 mpg higher than the HIGHWAY EPA value for all 3 vehicles doing normal, everyday driving. Mileage actually DROPS on the VW on the highway vs. normal, everyday driving. Goes up on highway with the Tacoma and up or down on the Benz, depending on whether AC on and speed.

Ralph

 

[Doc_Bob]

Don't do warmups. Just start up and drive gently for a while, even with the tractor. Actually, I'm driving kinda gently all the time now to save fuel.

Ralph

I do the same. Just drive very gently. Let the fuel that I am burning do some work. Gone are the good old days of letting the car sit for 5 minutes as it "warms" up.